📢 Still open – respond before 23rd June Highland Council is consulting on Short-Term Let Control Areas covering Highland Rural and Inverness City. These proposals could have significant impacts on self-catering operators, tourism businesses and local economies across the Highlands. We are urging ALL operators, suppliers and tourism stakeholders to respond before the deadline. 📅 Closing date: 23rd June 📢 Silence will be interpreted as consent Respond here 👇 assc.co.uk/short-term-let-re… @FionaCampbell74 @SaveSCScotland @st_alliance

Scotland needs growth but we won’t get it with high taxes and stifling regulations

Policy that relates to the licensing of self-catering and B&Bs is steeped in mirkiness. Four years on.. thousands of micro businesses shut down due to a flawed licensing scheme based on flawed policy. No evidence of any societal benefit from STL licensing. @DvdHmltn

Dumfries and Galloway Council has voted down plans for a visitor levy. This is a welcome decision and a clear signal that adding new taxes and administrative burdens is not the answer to supporting Scotland's visitor economy. Tourism businesses need confidence, investment and growth - not more red tape: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c621… @dgcouncil @st_alliance @scothospgroup @FSB_GarryC @FionaCampbell74 @SaveSCScotland

At a time of such uncertainty over the competitiveness of #Scotland as a destination this is a very sensible decision. #SaveSC @scotgov @ASSCnews

Four years of extensive regulation. Falling housing supply. Rising waiting lists. Our latest briefing asks a simple question: where is the evidence that intervention in Scotland's self-catering sector has delivered meaningful housing benefits? It's time for an evidence-led approach to tackling Scotland's housing challenges. scottishhousingnews.com/arti… @FionaCampbell74 @ralphaverbuch @SaveSCScotland @st_alliance

What does the evidence actually say about Short-Term Lets (STLs) in Edinburgh? The narrative is that STLs are hollowing out communities, causing widespread nuisance, and driving the housing crisis. The licensed STL register and council data tell a more nuanced story. 📍@Edinburgh_CC claimed to there were 12,000 STLs. The current licensed register shows: • 5,640 licensed STLs in total, of which;
• 2,300 secondary lets (entire property)
• 1,271 home lets
• 872 home shares
• 1,197 home let & share 👉Most licensed STLs are not entire properties dedicated solely to tourism, and there are far fewer than claimed 📍Are STLs "hollowing out communities"? The register shows: • 331 buildings have more than one secondary let
• 975 secondary-let licences across those buildings
• That's an average of fewer than 3 per building The biggest concentrations are serviced apartment blocks: • Western Harbour Midway (25)
• 129 High Street (13)
• Thistle Street SW Lane (11)
• 27 Home Street (11)
• 9 South St Andrew Street (11)💰💸💴These large serviced-apartment developments were approved by Edinburgh Council itself. Many owned by foreign investors, and there are more coming 💰💸💵🤔 👉If community cohesion is being affected, the evidence points more towards purpose-built serviced apartment blocks than small, locally owned short-term lets. 📍What about "party flats"? Of 11,000 noise complaints recorded in 2009, only 41 were linked to short-term lets. More strikingly, 22 of those 41 complaints came from a single property. 👉That suggests a very small number of problematic operators rather than a city-wide STL nuisance problem. 📍What about the housing crisis? There is still no clear evidence that Edinburgh's STL restrictions have: • Increased affordable housing supply
• Reduced rents
• Reduced house prices At the same time, hundreds of council-owned homes remain empty and uninhabitable. 📍The licensing regime was intended to improve safety and regulation. Instead: • Many operators have left the licensed market and are operating illegally 
• Compliant operators who applied for planning permission have faced very high refusal rates- easier targets for @Edinburgh_CC 
• Only 12 enforcement cases have reportedly been referred/actioned Questions remain about whether the system is achieving its intended objectives. 📍📍Meanwhile, Edinburgh Council has spent around £400k of taxpayer’s money defending STL policies in court, losing multiple legal challenges, with further litigation expected 📍📍 Public policy should be evidence-led, proportionate, and focused on genuine problem properties rather than broad assumptions. The data suggests Edinburgh's STL debate is more complicated than the headlines. The real challenge may be balancing tourism, housing and community interests without targeting responsible operators who are not causing measurable harm. #SaveSC @thecockburn @PLACEEdinburgh @bbcandrewpicken @deadlinenews @vickimillerVS @adamtomforrest @CBI_Scotland @SCOTOnetwork @stephenjardine @briandonnellyHT @collarbrodies @licensinglaws @stvnews @stvsharon @montaukian @mediawummin @RhodaFMorrison @donaldturvill @heraldscotland @bbcscotlandnews @edinburghpaper

While our nation toils under a cost of living crisis our 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 politicians put in a place a scheme that increases the cost of our staycations. Words and actions from our politicians need to match. @StephenFlynnSNP

In Parliament @JoePJRobertson discussed the loss of 1.8 billion in tourism spending from a holiday tax. “In coastal communities, where summer trading keeps business viable through winter, the damage would be concentrated and severe.” This will impact high streets and local jobs. #StopTheHolidayTax

@StephenFlynnSNP Tourism Minister needs to get to grips with the carnage being wreaked on the self catering sector by a catalogue of economically damaging schemes - STL licensing, Visitor Levy and Non Domestic Rates. Once he understands that he will have less to smile about.

32,000 #STL licences in operation. Four years of extensive regulation. Yet housing supply continues to fall, social housing waiting lists continue to rise, and affordability pressures remain. Our latest briefing asks a simple question: ** Where is the evidence that intervention in self-catering accommodation has improved housing outcomes? ** Policy should be guided by evidence, outcomes and proportionality. Read more: assc.co.uk/industry-news/ass… #Housing #Scotland #Tourism #Planning #EvidenceBasedPolicy @ASSCnews @st_alliance @H_F_S @FSB_Scotland @SaveSCScotland

Spot on. #SaveSC

@scotgov makes the laws @Edinburgh_CC uses them to hound those following the rules while rule-breakers in the brand new black market it spawned live in a parallel universe where there are no penalties, no levy, no problems. Hypocrisy at every level of government. #SaveSC

Interesting #VisitorLevy update from @DundeeCouncil. Modelling has been done to explore a £5 fixed Visitor Levy vs 5% Visitor Levy. The outcome? The £5 fixed amount option is forecast to generate almost £3 million MORE net revenue over 10 years than the 5% model. For years, we were told percentage levies raise more money. The evidence increasingly suggests that isn't always true. Good policy starts with data, not assumptions. #VisitorLevy #Tourism #ScottishTourism #EvidenceBasedPolicy assc.co.uk/industry-news/dun… @st_alliance @ASSCnews @ScotBandBassoc @scothospgroup @SaveSCScotland

📢 New analysis from Dundee City Council is challenging a key assumption in the Visitor Levy debate. The Council's modelling suggests that a £5 fixed levy per room per night could generate almost £3 million more revenue over 10 years than a 5% percentage-based levy, while also offering greater simplicity and transparency. As ASSC Chief Executive Fiona Campbell notes: "Throughout the development of Scotland’s Visitor Levy legislation, there has often been an assumption that percentage-based levies would automatically generate more revenue than a fixed amount model. Dundee’s own modelling demonstrates that this is not necessarily true." The findings raise important questions about how visitor levies are designed and highlight the value of evidence-led policymaking. Read more about what this could mean for Scotland's tourism accommodation sector 👇 assc.co.uk/industry-news/dun… @FionaCampbell74 @SaveSCScotland @st_alliance

Who needs evidence nowadays.It is ill informed opinions which prevail.They say guests bring all provisions with them.This is not the case as most eat out in community,pubs etc contributing to local economy.Bureacrats are ill informed and ignorant of truth.

Licensing had such great potential but the way @Edinburgh_CC have implemented it has had the exact opposite effect. Soon the only STLs left will be the unlicensed ones. Hopefully someone will see sense soon!

Thank you for replying. Your voice has been appreciated by our community & also at full council where you've asked questions relevant to @ASSCnews @FionaCampbell74 getting a response from @EdinburghLabour's Cllr Meagher. STL licencing a good idea in principle but botched totally!

📢 Scottish Government urged to reset approach following new independent report on self-catering sector A new report from the Moffat Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University, commissioned by the ASSC, highlights the growing impact of overlapping regulation on Scotland’s £1bn self-catering sector. It finds that while licensing, planning rules, rates changes and upcoming visitor levies continue to increase pressure on operators, there is still no clear evidence that restrictions are delivering increases in housing supply. Key findings also show the sector supports over 29,000 jobs, contributes £1bn annually to the economy, and accounts for 31% of all overnight stays in Scotland (43% for domestic visitors), despite representing less than 1% of housing stock. The report calls for a more joined-up and proportionate approach to regulation, with a focus on “refinement rather than expansion”. The ASSC is now urging the Scottish Government to use this evidence to reset its approach and work towards a more balanced, sustainable framework for the sector. 👉 Read more and view the full report here: assc.co.uk/press-release/sco… @FionaCampbell74 @SaveSCScotland